The Truth About I Love You
by aeileen
Summary: Annabeth Chase works for her mother's very successful architecture firm is placed in charge of their next big project: Redesigning Atlantis Industries, Annabeth is paired to work with Atlantis's owner's son, Percy Jackson, to get everything up to par. Sparks fly between the duo, but when Annabeth's rocky past gets dredged up life takes a few twists T/M all rights to Rick Riordan


Annabeth rushed, she was late for her meeting and it was the biggest deal of the year. She had to be in the conference room in two minutes flat or she'd lose any and all chances of getting that promotion next month. Her firm was meeting with Atlantis Industries, who wanted to rebuild their HQ and were interested in hiring Athens' Architecture for the project, Annabeth being the head architect.

Her phone had failed to go off that morning and if it wasn't for her internal alarm clock she'd still be in her plush queen sized bed, snoring in her apartment. She had managed to get out of the hose only twenty minutes later than had hoped and skipped her morning coffee, but her hair was in its natural wild curls and Annabeth could only pray that they didn't look too unprofessional.

Annabeth ran as fast as she could in her black Louboutin's, but it wasn't nearly quick enough. She made it up the front stairs of the building and rushed in, not even bothering to say hello to the secretary. She panicked as she watched the elevator doors start to close.

"Wait," She called urgently, "Stop!"

A breath of relief escaped her lips as a hand reached out and pushed the thick door back; she squeezed in and rapidly pressed the button for her floor. After the door had shut and they started moving she turned to thank her hero. She was pleasantly rewarded to find a handsome man with unruly black hair and the start of some stubble on his strong jaw.

"Thanks." Annabeth said breathlessly, "I'm late for a meeting, starts in like a minute."

"No problem." The man said smiling at her with bright green eyes, "You wouldn't happen to be Annabeth Chase, would you?"

"That'd be me." Annabeth replied.

"Well I don't think they'll mind you being late." Annabeth raised a skeptic brow, "Percy Jackson," he said, extending his hand, "Of Atlantis Industries."

"Mr. Jackson," Annabeth said brightly, shaking his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Likewise," The elevator door opened onto their floor, "Care to lead the way?"

"I'd love to."

Annabeth escorted Percy to the meeting room where Annabeth's coworker Reyna, Annabeth's mother, Percy's father who was the owner of Atlantis, and a few more members of both companies were waiting for them. Annabeth gave her piece and they worked out details, but she was pleased to know that she got the job and would be working with Percy throughout the process. He would be the Atlantis supervisor of sorts on the project. After they exchanged business cards and arranged to meet for coffee to begin planning, he and the rest of the Atlantis team had departed from Athens' Architecture.

Annabeth wore a smile as she navigated her way through the large building. The outer walls were glass so the warm California sun lit up the modern halls. She opened the door to her office and collapsed in her cushy black desk chair, dialing the number for her assistant.

"Annabeth Chase's office, how can I help you?" A smooth voice rang from the other end.

"Piper, can you send an intern to get me coffee?" Annabeth said in a groggy voice, "I'm dying."

"Sure thing Annabeth," Piper said, laughing a bit.

"And then come in here." Annabeth said, "I need girl talk."

"Your wish is my command." Piper replied sarcastically.

"Shut up." Annabeth said good naturedly, "I am your boss, you know."

Piper hung the phone rather replying. Annabeth rolled her eyes, after working together for three years, Piper McLean had become one of Annabeth's close friends. It was nice to have someone Annabeth could joke with at work for when she was feeling stressed. She had Reyna too, but she was all business while she was clocked in, fun time was for outside work.

Not that Annabeth would ever be unprofessional in the office, but if she needed someone to talk about how nice the delivery man's butt was, she knew Piper would be a better option than Reyna. Reyna would look at her with disapproving eyes, shake her head in disappointment and return to her office while Annabeth greatly held back the urge to stick her tongue out at the brunette.

Fifteen minutes later, her office door opened and a tan skinned girl with dark hair holding a clear cup that contained a signature green straw entered the room. Annabeth smiled brightly, at both Piper and her iced mocha. She took it greedily from Piper's hands and indulged a long sip before setting it on her desk. Piper sat as frumpy as possible for a person wearing a knee length pencil skirt in one of the two chairs Annabeth had on the opposite side of her desk

"Did you see the Poseidon Jackson's son?" Was the first thing that came from Annabeth's mouth after thanking Piper for the coffee.

"Hmm, yes I did." Piper said raising her brows, "Not my type, I go for tall blondes with blue eyes, but he definitely looks like your kind of man. You'll be working with him, right?"

Annabeth nodded, "I met him in the elevator today and he's very nice."

"You mean a very nice piece of ass?" Piper asked, laughing at her own humor.

"Don't you have work to do?" Annabeth asked, attempting not to blush.

Piper stood and brushed imaginary dust from her skirt. "You called me, remember?"

"Just go do your job so I can do mine." Annabeth said, laughing, as Piper exited the office.

Annabeth admired the view of the ocean she had from her window. It was a little obstructed by a few of the buildings, but the ocean was still there. She admired its beauty, the way the waves rolled to the shore and the sun reflected off of its liquescent surface.

After a long day at the office, Annabeth was finally able to return to her apartment around six. She had ordered a pizza on her way home and was pleased to see the delivery man driving up her street as she entered her building. After making it to her floor and unlocking the door to her large apartment, she fished a twenty out of her bag before throwing it on the island in the kitchen and peeling her shoes off of her aching feet. The doorbell rang and she accepted the pizza and handed the man the twenty, telling him to keep the change.

Her German Shepard who barely was allowed to live in the building rushed to greet her. Annabeth had to promise her landlord that if there was a single infraction of the rules; Hercules would be sent to live elsewhere. Annabeth hoped that would never happen, seeing Hercules was practically glued to her whenever she was with him and would be rather lonesome without him.

She took a slice of the greasy, cheesy goodness before setting down the box and going to her room to change. Annabeth glanced at her unmade bed before stripping down and throwing on sweatpants and a sports bra. Annabeth fetched her phone and the rest of the pizza and called Piper as Hercules curled up at the end of her bed.

"Annabeth!" Piper answered after the third ring.

"Come over, I have pizza." Annabeth said as she buried herself into her duvet.

"No can do, kiddo." Piper said, earning an eye roll from Annabeth, though Piper couldn't see it. Annabeth was almost two years Piper's senior. "I'm at Jason's."

"Ditch Jason," Annabeth said, Jason was Piper's boyfriend who she'd been dating since sophomore year of college and was about to pop the question any day now. "Does he have pizza?"

"No," Piper said thoughtfully. "But he does have something else I'm interested in."

"Ugh." Annabeth said, "Fine go have fun with your boyfriend."

"Oh honey, I will." Piper said before ending the call.

Annabeth debated largely on whether or not she should break out the bottle of wine in her refrigerator, but decided she better not, seeing she was meeting Percy Jackson for coffee at eight am the next morning and then reporting to the office. Annabeth decided on eating her pizza, watching _Gone with the Wind_ and cuddling with her dog until she passed out at nine pm.

She was lucky her alarm actually went off at six thirty like it was supposed to the day before. Annabeth readied herself and was actually able to take Hercules for a quick morning walk before she finished retrieving her things she'd need and located her phone and keys. Annabeth found her spot in her parking garage and unlocked her white Range Rover Sport which had been a twenty first birthday and welcome to the firm present from her mother, who also was owner of Athens' Architecture.

Annabeth navigated her way to the small, locally owned coffee shop near her work. She liked going there rather the big name places every once in a while. It was a nice change of scenery. Annabeth fetched her things from the passenger's side and entered the shop, quickly placing her order. She sat in one of the seats at a larger table in the shop, expecting to have to use table space while designing the rough sketch.

When her name was called, Annabeth fetched her apple fritter and coffee, returning to the table, awaiting her guest. Five or so minutes later Annabeth was greeted by the sight of black wind tousled hair, very flattering slacks and a grey button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Percy smiled at Annabeth before placing his order, collecting it and joining her.

"Mr. Jackson," Annabeth said, standing and extending her hand, "Pleasure to see you again."

Percy laughed, taking her hand, "Please, it's Percy."

"Well Percy," Annabeth decided, sitting again, "in that case, you can just call me Annabeth."

"Well Annabeth, it's great to see you too."

Percy smiled as he took the seat opposite of Annabeth. They started working on the plans and Annabeth was pleased to discover they wanted to take a modern twist on classic architecture. Annabeth and Percy planned, designed and spoke for an hour. Annabeth found he was actually a very interesting person, and she greatly hoped she wasn't boring him with all of her talk about buildings and structures and great pieces of the past.

It was going on nine thirty when Percy said he had better be getting into the office soon. Annabeth had to admit she was a little disappointed, but she knew she had probably be getting in too, she needed to make sure she got all of her paper work sorted out so she could be home by around four.

"You know," Percy said, picking his keys up off the table. "I'd really like to do this again sometime, but maybe, without the work part? Like we could get dinner or something, maybe, you know- if you want?"

Annabeth smiled as she gathered her sketches. "I think I'd like that too."

"Oh, really, um that's great, uh how about Friday?" Percy asked, stumbling over his words, "I could pick you up around seven? I mean, if that works for you, of course."

"I'll text you my address." Annabeth said with a light laugh, enjoying the way he was struggling to be smooth.

"Great!" Percy said happily, "It's a date, I-uh, I mean, well-yeah. It's a date, then."

"It's a date." Annabeth agreed, "I'll see you later, Percy."

Annabeth tossed her empty cup in the trash before exiting the shop doors, walking to her car. Her face was starting to hurt from the smile she was wearing as she drove the short distance to her office. Annabeth made her way to her floor and walked past Piper's desk greeting her kindly.

"What's go you so happy?" Piper asked, "You met with Percy today, didn't you?"

"Mm hm." Annabeth hummed simply in response, continuing to walk towards her office. She heard Piper get up from her desk and follow.

"I need details, Annabeth." Piper demanded.

Annabeth entered her office, Piper following, and sat behind her desk, pulling her laptop from her bag and turning it on while Piper patiently-or impatiently waited. Piper sat on the edge of the desk and drummed her nails in an irritating rhythm as Annabeth signed into her computer.

"Well," Annabeth finally said, her smile returning bright, "he's such a gentleman Piper, and he's really funny and nice and fumbles over his words and it's _really_ cute."

"Are you going to try and land a date?" Piper asked, stopping the tapping. Annabeth just smiled wider. "Oh my God, you already did!" The blonde nodded, "Well I'm happy for you, Annabeth. It'll be good for you to get yourself out there, especially with the hottie heir to a multi-billion dollar company, and after your last relationship, I think you deserve it."

The smile slipped off of Annabeth's face "Piper, I thought we agreed not to talk about that?"

"Shit," Piper said, slamming her palm onto her forehead, "Annabeth I'm sorry, that was tactless and insensitive."

"It's fine," Annabeth said, busying herself by checking her email. "I can't let one psycho ex control my life forever."

"I'm still sorry though," Piper hopped off of Annabeth desk, "I have some papers to go through, but I hope this works out for you, Annabeth."

"Thanks," Annabeth said, her smile coming back, just muted, "I hope it does too."

Piper departed and Annabeth continued to open emails. One from that morning was towards the top of her inbox and it was from her mother. Annabeth rolled her eyes as she opened it, wondering why the woman couldn't just send a text. The message asked for Annabeth to come to her mother's office when she got to work.

Annabeth sighed, pushing back from her chair and navigating her way to the elevator and up one floor where the executive offices were. Annabeth found herself standing in front of a large corner office with the name plate "Athena Chase" next to the door. She knocked twice before she heard her mother's voice call for her to open the door.

"Ah, Annabeth, come, sit." Athena said, gesturing to the chairs near her desk. Annabeth did as she was told. Athena continued clicking away on her keyboard as she spoke. "Annabeth, as you know, the Atlantis project is huge for our company. More importantly, huge for you, seeing you are the head of the project. But this is bigger than that."

"And how is that?" Annabeth asked.

"You see, I'm about ready to call it quits." Athena explained, "I've been with this company for almost thirty years, since I started it fresh out of college. I think I have done all I can for it, and I have more than enough saved for retirement. I plan on retiring come the New Year, and if you prove worthy on the Atlantis Project, I think you'd be fit for taking my place."

Annabeth's eyes widened as she realized what her mother just said. In six months the company could be in her name. She could be the owner of Athens' Architecture Firm. She didn't know if she was ready for that. Athens' was a multimillion dollar company, and for all that weight to be put on her, she wasn't sure if she could hold it.

"Mother, I'm not even twenty six yet. How can you expect me to run one of the top architecture firms in the world?" Annabeth practically cried, "There are so many people better fitted for this than me! What about Mr. D or Chiron? I'm sure they'd both be please to take it off your hands."

"Annabeth, you're the top architect here which is a major accomplishment. There are people who have been doing this line of work since before you were born, but there is no one here that I could see running this place better than you." Athena admitted, "I know this is a lot of pressure to place on you, but I truly think you could handle it, and I'd always be a phone call away if things go awry, which I highly doubt would ever happen. You're a level headed young lady, you have the brightest mind I've ever seen and you're more than capable of running this company."

"Am I?" Annabeth murmured.

"Yes," Athena said, fully facing Annabeth. Annabeth looked at the woman before her, who showed almost no family resemblance, with her dark straight hair and angular face, it was in much contrast to Annabeth's softer structure and blonde curls. The only thing that made it easy to identify them as mother and daughter was their almost exactly similar grey eyes. "You're ready for this Annabeth. I wouldn't have brought you up here if I had a single doubt about your abilities. If you can pull of the Atlantis project, your name will replace mine. Athena ran her hand over the bronze name plate resting on her desk. "Now get to work."

"Okay," Annabeth said, rising from her seat. She paused in the doorway, looking back at Athena, "And mom," the woman met her eyes, "thanks."

;

Annabeth stared at her empty closet for at least fifteen minutes. She didn't know why type of dinner they'd be getting so she had no clue how to dress. Annabeth paced, debating calling Piper before she decided just to wear a simple dress. It would be acceptable in a casual and formal setting. Annabeth fished a casual sleeveless number from her closet. It hit mid-thigh and was pale blue floral. Annabeth slipped on nude heels and started on her hair.

She didn't want to look like she tried too hard, so she braided her hair to fall down her shoulder. Annabeth brushed on a few swipes of mascara before deeming herself ready. Annabeth quickly gave Hercules a dog treat before returning to her room to grab her tan leather back and drape the long strap over her shoulder. She slipped her phone and wallet inside as a knock on the door signaled Percy was there.

Annabeth opened the door, holding on to Hercules's collar so he didn't attack Percy with kisses before he could get a chance to speak. Annabeth smiled as she greeted him and invited him in. She was glad she was satisfied with her outfit, seeing he was wearing dark wash jeans and a minty green button down, tucked in with the sleeves rolled half way and tan boat shoes. They seemed to be at equal levels of dressiness for the occasion.

"Wow, uh you look-great." Percy said, earning a grin from Annabeth.

"You don't look too bad yourself." Annabeth responded, releasing the collar of her dog. "That's Hercules by the way. He's mostly harmless."

"Mostly?" Percy asked, hesitating to pet him.

"He might kill you with kisses." Annabeth stage whispered, laughing.

Percy took that as an invitation to crouch down to the dog's height and rub behind his ears, resulting in instant love from Hercules. Annabeth was glad too, the last time she brought a boy home Hercules wasn't too fond of him. But in Hercules's defense, the guy turned out to be crazy.

"So where are we going?" Annabeth asked, shouldering her bag again, having dropped it to grab the dog.

"It's a surprise." Percy said smiling, "You like Italian, right?"

"Who doesn't?" Annabeth asked.

They entered the elevator in Annabeth's building and rode to the lobby. Annabeth thanked the doorman as she exited. They walked towards the lot where Annabeth almost never parked.

"You have a nice building." Percy pointed out.

"My mom designed it." Annabeth explained, "She got a killer deal, and its also part of the reason I get to have such a large dog."

"Speaking of your dog," Percy asked, "Do you like mythology, Hercules and all?"

"I do," Annabeth said, playing with her braid, "It's always been something that's interested me. What about you?"

"Mythology runs in the family." Percy answered, "My dad's name is Poseidon and well, mines Perseus, but I don't like to share that much."

Annabeth raised her brows, "Perseus huh?"

"Yeah, my dad wanted to keep the tradition or Greek names, and well, mom chose Perseus because it could be shortened into Percy and Perseus was the only hero who got a happy ending."

"I like it," Annabeth said, smiling, "but I take it you don't want me to start addressing you as Perseus?"

"Oh please, no." Percy said, resulting in a small laugh from Annabeth.

They reached Percy car, which was just a much newer version of Annabeth's. After driving some thirty minutes, they arrived at a little bistro on the ocean. When Annabeth exited the car, the smells of ocean and garlic wafted their way into her nose, making her stomach growl. Percy walked over to her side of the car and extended his hand; she took it and walked with him towards the entrance.

"Two for Jackson," Percy said to the hostess. "I had an outdoor table reserved?"

"Right this way, sir." The woman said, guiding them through the restaurant onto an empty patio. The hostess seated them and handed them menus.

Two minutes later a different server came for their drink orders. Percy ordered a bottle of red wine before Annabeth could object. She laughed at the fact that he ordered the same bottle she was going to ask for a glass of.

"So," Annabeth said, taking a sip of the wine after the waiter left. "I know your secret first name, I know you work at Atlantis, though I don't really know what Atlantis is, and I also know you're quite handsome and have excellent taste in wine. But besides that, I don't know much about you Perseus Jackson."

Percy blushed at the handsome comment, but obliged to Annabeth's implied question anyway. "Well, I'm twenty five, my birthday is on August eighteenth, I really like blue food, my parents are separated and both remarried, and my mom is probably my favorite person in the world.

"Blue food huh?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah, back before my mom was married to the guy she is now, who's really great by the way, she was married to a creep. One day he said blue food didn't exist," Percy explained, "So we proved him wrong. From then on, my mom made a point to buy any blue food she saw and use food coloring to make things like blue pancakes and cookies."

"She sounds great." Annabeth said truthfully.

"She's the best." Percy agreed, "What about you, Miss Annabeth Chase?"

She thought for a moment. "I'm twenty five, my birthday is July twelfth, my parents are also separated, but only my dad is remarried. I have no food color preferences and I've wanted to be an architect since before I can remember. Now, do you think you could explain to me what exactly Atlantis Industries is?"

Percy laughed, "I don't even know that well, actually I don't think anyone really does. Really we just do anything that has to do with the ocean. We fund clean ups after oil spills, invest in research projects, we have a whole team of scientists who study things people pull from the great blue." Percy nodded his head towards the ocean which was all of about one hundred feet away. "My dad is an entrepreneur to say the least, an entrepreneur who really likes the ocean."

"Interesting," Annabeth said, "What's your position there?"

"I guess I don't really have a set title. I'd say I'm kind of like a manager mixed with my dad's assistant." Percy explained, "I really just follow him around all day and learn how to run the company. I'll do odd jobs and fill out papers, make sure everything is running smoothly basically. If there's an issue, I'm normally the one they call. I help take the stress off of my dad's shoulders."

"Sounds either really difficult," Annabeth decided, "or quite easy."

"Hit the nail on the head right there." Percy agreed, "If I'm just spending the day following around my dad, it's a breeze, but as soon as something goes wrong, my day goes to hell."

The server returned and took their orders. Annabeth and Percy sipped on wine and ate their pasta while the sun sunk down over the ocean, creating a serene feeling. Annabeth enjoyed Percy's company immensely. He was easy to talk to in a way that made Annabeth not want to stop. They finished their meals and a waiter came with the bill. Percy took out his card and handed it to the waiter before even looking at the bill. Annabeth's hand was just clutching her wallet as the server walked away.

"Percy, I can pay for myself." Annabeth said pointedly.

"I know you can," Percy said, "but that doesn't mean you have to."

Annabeth huffed in defeat before smiling, "Thank you." She said.

"Of course."

After the server returned with Percy's card, they decided to take a walk. Annabeth had to hold her shoes so she was able to walk in the sand. She could feel a shiver start to creep up her spine as the wind picked up slightly. Her skin turned to goose flesh as her body shuttered from the burst of cold. Percy noticed and hesitantly wrapped his arm around her, when Annabeth smiled slightly he pulled her closer to keep her warm. Using her free hand, she wrapped her arm around his torso.

Whether it was the wine, or because it just felt _right_, Annabeth leaned close to him, tucking her head against his chest. Her eyes lulled shut as they walked. She trusted him to guide her as they walked a fair length of the beach.

"This was nice." Annabeth mumbled against his shirt. "Thank you."

"Anytime, Annabeth."

The two headed back towards the restaurant's parking lot. Annabeth curled up against the soft leather of the seats in Percy's car. The last thing she remembered was telling him how much she wanted to do that again sometime when she felt him nudging her arm, apparently waking her. They were in front of her building, and as comfortable as she was, she knew her bed out be more.

"Sorry," Annabeth said, rubbing her eyes, "Wine makes me sleepy."

"It's fine," Percy assured her, "I'll walk you up. We don't need you falling asleep in the elevator."

"Ha-ha." Annabeth said sarcastically, but welcomed his hand to her own when he offered it.

The found themselves at Annabeth door faster than she had wanted. Annabeth debated whether or not she should invite him in. But in all honesty, she was about to pass out and that sort of vetoed her decision.

"I had a really great time tonight, Percy." Annabeth said sleepily.

"I did too." Percy paused for a second. "Woul-um, goodnight Annabeth." He was in mid turn when Annabeth stopped him.

"Percy," He faced her again, Annabeth leaned up and pressed her lips to his.

It was a simple kiss. Nothing extravagant, but it was all Annabeth needed. She smiled at him before unlocking her door.

"G'night Percy."


End file.
